A few local anarchists who are helping to coordinate planned disruptions of the Democratic National Convention have been raising funds by selling off these spiffy “Defend Denver” T-shirts.

I picked one up myself after being approached by the designer at a recent protest meeting. I wore it around the next day and received more inquiries about where I got it than any T-shirt I’ve ever owned.

What does the shirt mean? The designer explained it to me as a way to “support the real movement of the exploited to produce human utopia, or something.”

Or maybe it just looks kinda cool and militanty. He says his inspiration came from similar “Defend” shirts that popped up a number of years ago in other cities – like “Defend Brooklyn,” “Defend Philadelphia,” etc – in response to gentrification and other real or perceived injustices.

The Defend Denver shirt got its most public play when it was worn by Recreate 68’s Glenn Spagnuolo during a press conference the group had called to denounce the city’s security plans for protesters as excessive and unnecessary. Hey, Glenn, is that an AK-47 on your shirt? Uh, great messaging, dude!

Anyone interested in snatching up their own Defend Denver shirt can get one at the Fabric Lab next week. They will also be available the week of the DNC at a booth in Civic Center Park, which is serving as a kind of protest HQ. – Jared Jacang Maher